Samsung accused of sexual discrimination at China plant

The South Korean firm is facing allegations from a labor rights group that its hiring practices violated Chinese law, after it put up a recruitment poster for female workers without communicable diseases.

South Korea's Samsung has come under renewed fire for its labor policies in China, following accusations of illegal discrimination in its hiring practices in its China factories.

Rights group China Labor Watch (CLW) announced on Monday that it had photographed a recruitment poster for new roles at its 6,000-strong plant on August 29, that required applicants "be female and not possess any type of communicable disease".

It claimed those requirements were illegal under Chinese labor and employment law.

CLW pointed out the poster at the Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology plant violated article 12 of the Labor Law, which states: "Labourers shall not be discriminated against in employment, regardless of their ethnic community, race, sex, or religious belief."

The group added Samsung was also violating article 30 of the Employment Promotion Law, which states: "No employment unit, when recruiting employees, shall refuse to employ a job candidate on the basis that he/she is a carrier of any infectious pathogen".

CLW noted that the plant was managed by Samsung and 90 percent owned by the firm.

"It is impossible that Samsung does not know about the illegal hiring practices at its factory. Thus, we can only conclude that Samsung, in their previous statements, has being lying to the public about the lawful treatment of its workers," the group added.